POP: Do you still remember the first time you played?
Tiago Oliveira: The first time I played I must have been about 10, and it was the old, famous CM 01/02, the most legendary of all the ones I've played. I've always loved any game involving sport, whether basketball, football or cycling. Back then that kind of game wasn't common, so I discovered CM. Since then it's been an addiction for life.
POP: At the time, you were still young, in Oliveirense's youth ranks. Did you ever expect to appear in a game you loved so much?
Tiago Oliveira: Obviously we always dream of appearing in the game, since it would mean we were doing well on the national scene, but I never actually thought it would happen.
POP: Before you officially appeared in the database, did you have the habit of working around that 'problem' by creating your own player in the game?
Tiago Oliveira: I never had the habit of creating myself, or even tweaking the database to make my life as a manager easier. I like to play very much in line with reality, and not try to bend the actual rules of the game.
POP: What was your reaction when you saw you'd finally been created in the game?
Tiago Oliveira: The first time I saw myself in the game I was playing at Bragança, and it was a friend who worked on the Portuguese database who sent me a screenshot.
Obviously I was happy to appear in the game of my life. Honestly, the attributes barely mattered to me, since just being there was a personal win, and that meant more to me than anything else. But overall the information was accurate, and that gave me huge satisfaction.
POP: Do you start your saves with the teams you play for in real life? And do you give your own player preferential treatment? And when you manage other teams, do you also sign yourself, or are you strict and only do it if you're good enough for that team?
Tiago Oliveira: I generally do a lot of saves a year. It's a habit of mine to start one with the team I play for, and with the teams close to my heart, UD Oliveirense and Sporting CP. As far as I remember I've never signed myself for any team, and even when I play for the team I'm actually at, I'm generally very strict about it. If I have someone performing better, I give that player preference, I try to keep my personal life away from my life as a manager!
POP: Only in the FM2017 edition were you rated by the research team, so your attributes stopped being left to chance. Was the wait worth it? What do you think of the attributes, and in your own self-assessment, what would you change for better or worse?
Tiago Oliveira: In 2017, when I found out I'd been rated by the research team, I was super happy, and that's when I really started analysing my attributes more carefully. As for that, I think we always want to be better and improve, but as for the player I identify with in real life, I believe all my strongest attributes matched what I consider myself strongest at, and I was pleased with that.
POP: Some of your most relevant attributes, both in real life and in the game, are pace and other offensive traits. Those same attributes carry a lot of weight in the match engine, especially for full-backs, which leads them to finish seasons with excellent ratings and a huge number of assists. Have you felt that in your saves with your 'player'? Or do you tend not to push your full-backs forward, ensuring more defensive security?
Tiago Oliveira: As a manager I have very strong ideas of my own, I like to push my full-backs forward a lot, tucking the wingers inside, and that benefits my player. In 2017 at Bragança I got 21 assists, and in my save with GD Bragança I got 17, a bit below reality, but I was satisfied with the numbers.
In FM18, as manager, I no longer played myself as regularly, because I had a full-back with more ability than me on my team, and I only played 3-4 matches with 2 assists, which also wasn't too far from reality, since I barely played in real life!
POP: As for your qualities as a manager, do you study your opponents, or do you develop your tactic to the point where you don't need to adapt to your opponents?
Tiago Oliveira: I have my own ideas, I build my tactic from scratch and stick with it till the end. In my opinion, a manager has to know how to adapt to his players but should never give up on his own ideas, and I'm very much like that, proud and focused! I always carry my ideas into the game, knowing full well things obviously aren't that simple.
POP: Do you accept help from your staff members? For example, do you delegate press conferences and motivational team talks? And what about tactical advice during matches?
Tiago Oliveira: I usually delegate all pre-match press conferences, I only keep the motivational team talk before kick-off. Everything else I take on myself, but I always welcome suggestions, whether about training being too intense, or if my assistant thinks we should change something here or there. I'm quite open to that.
POP: Is there anything you'd like to see added to the game in the future that doesn't exist yet?
Tiago Oliveira: I think anything that adds more realism is always welcome, what I wouldn't want is for them to bring more artificiality into the game. I like the model, I like the idea… The simpler the better, while always adding one detail or another that brings more realism.
POP: We know something happened in a match in Bragança with a friend of yours. Tell us everything!
Tiago Oliveira: I was doing a save against a friend, with a Championshipteam, I think it was Sheffield Wednesday. We started with the same database, everything identical, and played together every day. Whoever finished lowest in the table at the end of the season had to walk down the main avenue at night, completely naked. In Bragança, the nights are always very busy, and at the end of the season my friend had to go run naked through a crowd. Luckily I got out of that one. Nowadays we cry laughing whenever we remember it!
Quick answer:
First edition you played?
CM 01/02
Favourite edition?
FM4
Favourite league?
Portuguese League
Favourite team to play as?
UD Oliveirense
Full-back or winger?
Full-back
Man-marking or zonal marking?
Zonal marking
High block with offside trap or low block?
High block with offside trap
